The next day a gorgeous woman with green hair, and one with black hair, waited for Arthur near Slyvian’s gate.

They both had bags with supplies for their trip. Arthur also had, but different from them, he had magical pouches that could store lots of things inside.

“I need to learn how to make them.” Arthur thought as he got close to them.

Myria was the first to welcome him with a smile. “Good morning, my ex… ex disciple, of course.” She giggled, and Arthur couldn’t understand what was funny about that.

“Good morning to both of you.”

“Now that the formalities are over, let’s move!”

An ancient ruin that wasn’t far from Slyvian. Arthur could not understand how the elves that lived there did not find it, but Myria and Lilia did.

“We found it by accident when we teleported to this area. It was dangerous to explore it without preparing first, so we left the ruin untouched, but it did not take long for us to be caught by Merethyl.”

Arthur could tell they weren’t lying, so he relaxed and continue the journey with them. They walked for hours through a muddy road that had more holes than a cheese, and more mosquitoes than a summer camp.

“A good thing this magic barrier blocks these mosquitoes.”

They walked, and walked, until the sun was not dancing in the sky anymore, but the moon.

A camping ground was necessary, so that was what they did, just alongside the road. Not that far from it, but neither close to it. Arthur let the two of them put on the tents as he prepared the fire with a flick of his hand.

“I will hunt for something for us.”

He left the campsite, going towards the dense forest around them. The first thing one needed to look for was footprints, and with the hunting knowledge Arthur accumulated throughout his time in that world, it was a piece of cake.

“This looks like the Three-Horn Boar, which has plenty of meat!”

It did not take long for Arthur to find it, sipping water from a small pool inside the forest. He grabbed the sword Merethyl gave him, shaping it to look like a spear, then he tossed it with all of his mighty.

The Three-Horn Boar died on the spot, pierced in the neck.

~~~~

Arthur returned to the campsite. Myria and Lilia were sitting around the fire to warm themselves, and the moment they saw Arthur carrying the boar, they smiled.

“Finally, something to eat.”

He used a butchering knife and precisely cut the boar, tossing a few parts that weren’t necessary.

With sticks, they cooked the boar meat, filling up their bellies, and sharing some stories amongst each other to pass the day. After that, they all went to sleep, anxious as they would arrive in the ancient ruin the next day.

Nothing strange happened during night time as they continue forward through the muddy road until they reached a place with complete dragon bodies.

“What is this?” Arthur said.

The surprise on his face was clear.

“Dragon corpses, it means we are close to where the ancient ruin is. This is where Merethyl found us.”

Dragon corpses without a single trace of decay, as if they were frozen in place. Strange. Arthur wanted to get near and devour them. Maybe an amazing bonus or secret would be found, but he couldn’t do it with Myria and Lilia around.

Only a few people knew about his dragon blood, and Merethyl, one person who knew, only knew by accident or by other means. Arthur wouldn’t tell her if possible.

“Maybe when we return, I can devour them without Myria and Lilia seeing it.” Thought Arthur.

After they passed through the fields where the dragon corpses were, they went walked a little further into reaching a completely normal part of the forest.

Arthur tried his best to look for anything out of the ordinary, but all pointed to an ordinary Elven forest.

“Is it an illusion array?” Arthur said.

He gazed at Myria, waiting for an answer. She was busy touching into random trees around the area.

“Yes, it is. The way to unlock it is by touching some specific trees in this area. Before you ask, I knew about this since Frostpeak, where I researched about elves and the myths around this area.”

Myria seemed to know what she was doing, so Arthur stood back and did not question her.

“Don’t worry, Arthur. She’s smart.” Lilia said, as she tapped Arthur on the shoulder.

~~~~

It took Myria some time to touch all the trees in the right sequence, but she did it. The once ordinary looking forest turned into a small building made of cobblestone.

“The ancient ruin is beneath us. Let’s watch out!”

The building had an enormous staircase that led down, just like the dungeon Arthur had once gone in. For a moment, he was scared it could be the same type of place.

He couldn’t tell why, but the place didn’t look friendly, and he sensed nothing with his dragon bloodline.

If it was indeed a place where dragons lived or used, then something should happen, right?

Arthur wasn’t feeling good about that place, but no matter what he said, Myria and Lilia wouldn’t back down to exploring it. The only thing he could do was keep a close watch and protect them if anything dangerous happened.

They kept going down using the staircase, and it did not seem to have an end. Arthur cast his candlelight spell to make it easier for Myria and Lilia to see something in the dark.

Water dripped from the cracks of the ruin, coming directly from the tree roots above it. The whole place gave a creeping feeling, and when they reached the end of the staircase, Arthur was sure it wasn’t a place where the dragons lived.

A maze, just like the ones he found in the dungeon near Odemore.

“We should leave. This isn’t a good place.” Arthur said.

When he turned around, there was no staircase anymore. The way out was blocked.

“We are trapped, **!”